Hey guys need some HELP with this strange stone please........

[curious kat]

.....this sure looks like it was used for something but don't have any idea of what Haven't found any other material like it & was found near sherds......Thanks

 

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[painterx7]

Very pretty abrader ??

 

[curious kat]

....I don't know painter.... was thinking that "abraders" were made of more rough or granular types of stone? This is so smooth & perfect, no indents or scratches, weird. Could it have been used for "red" paint, where they scraped off powder? Don't even know what it's made of, maybe red clay....but it's hard, not crumbly....confused here...lol....but thanks for helping....maybe it is an "abrader", I don't know much about them other than what I've read.

 

[painterx7]

I think you are closer than me lol

 

[curious kat]

Really painter?......it doesn't feel like it...lol...maybe someone else will have an idea one way or the other...thanks again

 

[quito]

Looks like something they obtained material from for making paint to me too cat.

 

[Doubter in MD]

Bottom round roast.

 

[monsterrack]

Kat if it is lite like clay I would say paint stone, if it's heavy like stone(maybe pipe stone) I would say a preform for a small effigy head maybe for a snake. A friend of mine found a small effigy of a snake head while we where hunting one day.Great find

 

[Twitch]

Looks like a piece of ground hematite. Does it seem to be very heavy for it's size? Definitely an oddity.

 

[rock]

Nice color on it whatever it is.

 

[The Grim Reaper]

Does it feel heavy? I agree with twitch. It looks like a piece of red Hematite that has been ground down for paint pigments. Very nice one too.

 

[surf]

The color makes me think Catlinite Pipestone Peace Pipe

George Catlin​

 

[unclemac]

Native potters didn't use glazes to finish off their pots, they used a favorite small smooth hand held stone to burnish a finish onto them.

 

[catherine1]

If you found it in context with a artifact site it is most likely a tool. Hemaite is a very dense stone like this one. Its red so I would call it a red hematite. It has some polish also. Nice pics/save. Thanks for sharing.

 

[curious kat]

...Thank you everyone for all of the help on this one!!! I've read what everyone has said and looked up the "Maybes".....well...it's not red Hematite, we do have that here but it's much "glassier" than this stone and the color is different, not to say that there aren't varieties of "red" in Hematite though. So...I think that our suspect is....ta-daa..."catlinite/pipestone"...like monsterrack & surf suggested! But...to be sure let me add that this stone is as heavy as a reg. rock, can leave a red mark on paper if pressed hard enough and feels like fine sandpaper on teeth. We do have lots of red clay here & Quartzite. And "pipestone" is "claystone" made between thick layers of Quartzite....but this is the only piece like this I've seen here, so far.....soooo does that sound like it is catlinite to everyone...before I mark it "solved"? Oh and you all are fantastic to help....thanx much again....

 

[curious kat]

...monsterrack...that "snake head" your friend has sounds really awesome, wish this had been one like that! Would love to see a pic of that....& thanks for your help

 

[curious kat]

...to Doubter....ha ha funny man!

 

[old digger]

If it is somewhat soft and workable, it may have been ground down as red ocher. Early man, including the indians fought and died over the sources of red ocher. Or, your piece may have been used to mark the designs on the pottery.

 

[curious kat]

....thanks old digger, didn't think of that or know that red ocher was that popular then! Now I'll have to go look it up and see what it looks like. The "softness" of it isn't soft like chalk but not hard like rock either, sort of in the middle.